Pocono Mountain school board cuts ties with Realtor, seeks new one

Thursday

May 8, 2014 at 8:36 AMMay 8, 2014 at 8:43 AM

JENNA EBERSOLE

The Pocono Mountain School District board will post new request for proposals for Realtor services, voting again Wednesday to break with its Realtor even after the firm offered to lower its commission.

The district has had three vacant school buildings, the Barrett Learning Center, Coolbaugh Learning Center and Coolbaugh Elementary Center, on the market for about a year with Michael Baxter & Associates.

Two of the three are currently under agreement or pending, while the larger and newer Coolbaugh Elementary Center remains without a buyer.

The contract with the Baxter firm ended at the end of March, with the board voting last month to discontinue it.

Instead, members asked the superintendent to bring a new draft of a request for proposals for Realtor services.

In the meantime, the board directed Superintendent Elizabeth Robison to take calls on the properties. Robison said she has received calls, and brought a question to the board on how to handle one request.

“I have to say, as superintendent, I am not a real estate attorney,” Robison said in explaining one of the calls.

The Baxter firm will receive a commission on deals that close within the next six months with anyone who showed interest before the expiration of the contract.

Baxter representative Dan Perich told the board Wednesday night that his firm would be willing to lower its commission from 7 to 6 percent on Coolbaugh Elementary Center, a savings to the district of $30,000, with a renewed contract.

“We know you want to sell it,” Perich said. “We want to be the ones who sell it for you.”

Board member Rusty Johnson asked again that the board consider continuing with Baxter, given that two schools are nearly sold, the district paid $5,000 to the firm already, and the need to continue moving forward quickly.

“We’ve gone through an RFP process,” he said, adding that the first request last year garnered two responses.

Board President Meg Dilger said she would like to see word go out further to Realtors in the Lehigh Valley who may have more connections on a larger scale.

The potential buyers for Coolbaugh Learning Center and Barrett Learning Center now are an international dog treats company and a buyer seeking to start an English language school for Chinese students.

Board member Ricky Smith asked whether the Baxter firm would also lower its commission for the two smaller buildings, Coolbaugh Learning Center and Barrett Learning Center, if the pending deals fall through.

Perich said his firm would agree to come down from a 10 percent commission on both to 8 percent commissions if the board renewed the contract and the current deals fall through.

Board member John Davis said he has no “axe to grind” with the Baxter firm, but believed the board should move forward as planned with the new request for proposals.

During a roll call vote, Johnson, Jackie Leonard, Dawn Wood and John Coyle voted to continue with Baxter, while Smith, Dilger, Michael Stern and Davis voted against it. When the call came for Annabella Lastowski’s vote, she paused and said she was confused and wanted to abstain, which Solicitor John Freund said would mean the vote failed.

“We need to truly discuss everything before we make a decision,” Lastowski said, saying she wanted to work it out in “that room” and pointed to the room where the board meets for closed-door executive sessions.

“We’re not allowed to,” Dilger responded.

Lastowski then said she agreed with Davis, and wanted to vote the same way.

“Are you a yes or a no?” Dilger asked.

“I guess I’m a no,” Lastowski said.

The board will consider proposals for real estate services in July.

Perich said after leaving the meeting that his firm will submit a new proposal.

“I understand why they made that decision,” he said. “Competition is a good thing and I’m looking forward to it.”